The Marine Mammal Center

A Community of Support documents the important conservation work being done by volunteers at the Marine Mammal Center.

The Marine Mammal Center relies upon volunteer effort to fulfill its mission. In this short film we hear all about the important conservation work being done at the Marine Mammal Center – told from the perspectives of the people who have committed themselves to helping forward this mission by volunteering their time. The film showcases the work being done by the Marine Mammal Center along the California coast as well as at their brand new facility in Hawaii!.

Be sure to watch the two additional videos that we produced in collaboration with the Marine Mammal Center, Rescue, Rehabilitation and Release and Fish Kitchen: What’s on the Menu. Together, these videos document what it takes to rescue, rehabilitate and release back into the wild on average 700 marine mammals each year.

In addition to being a world class conservation organization, the Marine Mammal Center is a non-profit veterinary research hospital. Sick or injured marine mammals receive all the nutrition that is required to make a full recovery and get released back into the wild, but these animals are more than just hospital patients. They are research subjects for an expert team of veterinarians working to discover any potential environmental threats to marine mammal populations.

The primary patients that the center receives are California sea lions, Pacific harbor seals, and Northern elephant seals. However, Guadalupe and Northern fur seals occasional visit the center. The Marine Mammal Center also runs and operates Ke Kai Ola, a marine mammal hospital in Kona, Hawaii with the primary goal of assisting in the recovery of the critically endangered Hawaiian monk seal.